Introduction to Fansub Downloading

New to Bittorrent? Your first time watching a fansub? This section answers your questions and serves as your initiation into the fansub and Bittorrent community.

Most people watch anime either from online video-streaming sites (e.g. Crunchyroll), or from download sites that download the video file first before it is played. Here, we only cover the downloading method, since the video-streaming method should be quite easy to figure out.

To download using IRC, you need an IRC client. A quick guide to downloading using IRC can be found here and here.

Sources for files on IRC:

Distro IRC bots, which you can usually find in the fansub group's IRC channel (if you don't know where, you can find information on AniDB)

To download via Bittorent, you need a torrent file and Bittorrent client. The torrent site provides you with small file called a "torrent" (size 0-100KB), and this file contains the metadata about the files to be downloaded and tracker information, and this file (torrent) can be opened with any bittorrent client (such as Transmission or utorrent), then you can choose the location of the download and the files to be downloaded (if you don't want to download the whole torrent).

Private trackers and semi-private trackers (Membership accounts may be required)

BakaBT is a public tracker with membership benefits; you can use our torrents without an account, by registering an account you get some benefits in exchange for keeping a good upload-to-download ratio.

Direct Downloading

Other P2P Methods

To download using Direct links, there are two methods:

Using the direct link to the file itself that is hosted on private server (service usually paid by the person who provides the links).

Using links to download from file hosting service, mostly free for both, who provides the links and the downloader.

To download using Ed2k network, you will need Ed2k links and Ed2k client.

To get the direct links you will need to look for them yourself either by using google, or participating on Internet forums that provide these links.

To get Ed2k links you can search for them using the Ed2k client search function, or by using search engines such as net2search.

Seeding

I've finished downloading the files, so how do I seed back?

Once your download has completed, most clients will continue to run the torrent in seeding mode until the ratio is 1:1. If this is not the case, try some of these steps:

Check your client's settings regarding how much a torrent should be seeded to before stopping. Your settings may be preventing seeding.

e.g., uTorrent's 'Torrent Properties' dialogue box for each torrent has an adjustable ratio target. It automatically stops the torrent when you hit the target ratio or seeding time.

If you have removed the torrent from your torrent client but still have the downloaded files on your disk, read on to learn how to re-seed the files.

I downloaded public BakaBT torrents before creating an account here. How do I seed back those files so that it counts for my account?

The easiest way is to remove the public versions and re-download those .torrent files while you are logged in and target the destination folder to the previously downloaded content. The method is similar to and explained in Re-seeding Downloaded Files with Different Clients below.

Another way is to replace the BakaBT public tracker URL in the previously downloaded torrent(s) with the tracker URL found in any of the torrents you have downloaded when you are logged in. You can make the necessary changes using your BitTorrent client.

Your leech/seed statistics will count toward your account stats only if you seed with a private torrent, which you have downloaded when you are logged in. Previous peer-to-peer activity with the public torrent will not be reflected on your account and it will not be visible in your torrent list on the site even if you continue to seed the same torrent (identical info_hash).

Warning:

Edits made to the torrent on the BitTorrent client will not be save to the .torrent file, so changes to the Tracker URL may be lost.

Make sure that you have only 1 (one) tracker URL entry in the torrent's trackers list. This might be the case if you open your newly downloaded private torrent file before you remove the public version of it on the BitTorrent client.

Why am I not seeding?

Seeding depends on other people connecting to you and downloading, it's not everyone who will instantly get to seed, we take turns, which happens more often than not here because everything in BakaBT is heavily seeded, which means that there are more people seeding stuff than leeching (downloading). Basically, think of it like the economy, if there are more sellers (seeder) than buyers (leecher), then the sellers don't get the sell much on average because there are just too little buyers. Just keep seeding, and check your user page to see if your torrents are active or not.

Re-seeding Downloaded Files with Different Clients

I downloaded a torrent that wasn't on BakaBT. How do I seed it towards my account?

First make sure that the torrent has the exact same files that are on BakaBT. Once verified, you can do any of these actions:

The cleanest method is to remove the old torrent from your client and re-download those .torrent files from BakaBt while you are logged in and target the destination folder to the previously downloaded content.

If you do not wish to remove the non-Bakabt torrent, simply don't remove the old torrent. After you target the destination folder to the previously downloaded content, your client should create a separate torrent with a single tracker within it, and all should be well. If it doesn't, manually stop the torrent and refer to the clean method above. Note that if you or your client combines the torrents and stacks the trackers, you will be banned (see below).

IMPORTANT: Make sure that you have only 1 (one) tracker URL entry in the torrent's trackers list. Stacked trackers may occur if you open your newly downloaded private torrent file before you remove the public version of it on the BitTorrent client or if you add trackers to existing torrents. DO NOT add private trackers (like BakaBt) to existing torrents: due to the way trackers report stats, your ratio will be artificially inflated and you will be banned.

Azureus

If you have downloaded something but removed it from Azureus and wish to seed it again, follow these steps:

Please Note: You must re-download the .torrent file.

Go to Azureus > File > Open > Torrent File...

Select the .torrent file for the data from its location on your hard drive

Select the location where the file you want to seed is stored

Wait for Azureus to finish checking the file. When it does, the file will move automatically from the download window into the seeding window

If the torrent does not move into the seeding window on its own: Right-click on newly created entry in the download window of the My Torrents view. Select Force Re-check. The value in the 'Done' column will count from 0% to 100%. Upon reaching 100%, the file will be moved to the seeding list on the bottom of the My Torrents tab.

If you do not have the original .torrent file but the original data, try this:

Download the file again

Azureus will check it out

Azureus will move it to the seeding list (the process is very quick)

(taken from Azureus wiki)

uTorrent 1.6.1, 1.8.5, 2.2.1

Note:For more recent versions of utorrent, the alternative way as described in the next section below has been having better success rate.

Go to the torrent page and download the .torrent file again (make sure you're logged in before downloading, if not the tracker URL will be incorrect).

Open the .torrent file in uTorrent, but do not start it yet (uncheck the "Start Torrent" checkbox).

Click on the ". . ." button at the end of the directory name display, and browse to the folder where the files are.

In Windows Explorer, make sure the filenames in the folder match the filenames in the torrent filelist.

If some/all of the filenames do not match, uTorrent allows you to relocate them, so as to avoid renaming.

Click "Ok" in the Add Torrent dialog box. The torrent should now appear in your torrent window in stopped state.

Right-click on it, and select "Force recheck". uTorrent will now scan the selected folder for matching files, so if the files are the same and still have the same filenames you should see the progress bar start filling up.

Let it scan until it says "Stopped" under the Status column. Then press "Start" to start the torrent proper.

If the files are 100% verified it should say "Seeding" under the Status column.

If there are missing files, or some of the pieces did not hash properly, uTorrent will download the missing pieces before putting the torrent in Seeding status.

You're done! Now just let the torrent sit and seed.

uTorrent 1.6.1, 1.8.5, 2.2.1 Alternative way

Go to the torrent page and download the .torrent file again (make sure you're logged in before downloading, if not the tracker URL will be incorrect).

Open the .torrent file in uTorrent and let it start (leave "start torrent" checked)

Wait some time. 5 seconds should be enough.

Stop the torrent.

Now navigate to the directory where the files are (according to the example above, the directory would be:"F:\utorrent\[AHQ] Gungrave 01-26 [Dual Audio] H264,AAC,5.1")

Delete all the files inside that directory (if any exist)

Move (or copy) the files you have to that directory

Now go back to utorrent

Right-click on the torrent you just added, and select "Force recheck". uTorrent will now scan the selected folder for matching files, so if the files are the same and still have the same filenames you should see the progress bar start filling up.

Let it scan until it says "Stopped" under the Status column. Then press "Start" to start the torrent proper.

If the files are 100% verified it should say "Seeding" under the Status column.

If there are missing files, or some of the pieces did not hash properly, uTorrent will download the missing pieces before putting the torrent in Seeding status.

You're done! Now just let the torrent sit and seed.

Official BitTorrent 6

Go to the torrent page and download the .torrent file again (make sure you're logged in before downloading, if not the tracker URL will be incorrect).

Open the .torrent file in BitTorrent, but do not start it yet (uncheck the "Start Torrent" checkbox).

Click on the ". . ." button at the end of the directory name display, and browse to the folder where the files are.

In Windows Explorer, make sure the filenames in the folder match the filenames in the torrent filelist.

If some/all of the filenames do not match, BitTorrent allows you to relocate them, so as to avoid renaming.

In the files tab right click the file and select relocate.

Browse to the original file, select it and click save.

Repeat the process for all files that have different names.

Click "Ok" in the Add Torrent dialog box. The torrent should now appear in your torrent window in stopped state.

Right-click on it, and select "Force recheck". BitTorrent will now scan the selected folder for matching files, so if the files are the same and still have the same filenames you should see the progress bar start filling up.

Let it scan until it says "Stopped" under the Status column. Then press "Start" to start the torrent proper.

If the files are 100% verified it should say "Seeding" under the Status column.

If there are missing files, or some of the pieces did not hash properly, BitTorrent will download the missing pieces before putting the torrent in Seeding status.

You're done! Now just let the torrent sit and seed.

Transmission 1.7x

For users of Mac OS X and most Linux distributions (possibly other OS's as well):

Open the torrent with Transmission. The Add window should pop up, with options for which files to download, destination, etc.

Click "Verify Local Data", and if your anime is still in the folder Transmission downloads to, it should update everything to 100% complete.

After this, simply click Add, and it should immediately start seeding.

The BakaBT Way

If you haven't already noticed, we do things a little differently from other trackers. Our main goals are:

1 Leave no torrent unseeded.

Every torrent on BakaBT should have at least one seeder and be downloadable.

2 Archive quality content.

As far as possible, we archive the highest-quality release for each show.

3 Keep detailed information.

All files should be well-described, so that downloaders know what they are downloading. Information about the show is kept sparse as that is easily found on anime/manga encyclopedia sites.

4 Remain easily accessible.

There is no point in keeping an extensive archive if only a few people can download from it.

In line with these goals, torrent content on BakaBT is moderated by a strict set of rules and guidelines. Over the years we've built up a community that has come to accept these rules. If you'd like your stay to be a pleasant one, we highly suggest getting acquainted with these rules, and fitting yourself into the community rather than trying to change the community from the outset.

Managing Your Ratio on BakaBT

While one's ratio does not describe everything about oneself, it remains quite evident that users with a decent ratio are more likely to get useful responses and replies than users with a poor ratio, so maintaining a good ratio is important if you have an account. Here, we list some tips to help you keep your ratio decent.

Throttle

Prioritize

If you're a first-time BakaBT user with not-many files for seeding, it is likely that you will start off by downloading some torrents. More astute users would have noticed that many of our torrents have a very high seeder:leecher ratio, which means it will be quite hard for you to seed back quickly. What do you do then?

The easiest way to manage this would be to throttle your download bandwidth. Your ratio is calculated by amount uploaded divided by amount downloaded, so the slower you download, the slower your ratio drops (do the math). Unless the torrent has enough leechers on it that you can upload at a decent speed, we advise you to make sure you don't kill your ratio too quickly yet.

While downloading big files, usually longer series and OVAs, it is always a good idea to set individual file download priority. That way you will be a partial seeder even while leeching and there is a bigger chance that another peer will connect and request packets from you rather then the seeder.

This can easily be achieved in most common recommended clients by choosing the files tab and setting download priority to high, normal or low. Some clients may have 3-6 priority levels.

uTorrent for example allows users to highlight multiple files, and has a "Prioritize by File Order" option (available in the right-click context menu) that ranks priority from 15 (highest) to 1 (lowest) based on the order they are in. This means you will usually get the first file downloaded first, the second file downloaded second, etc. Not only does this allow you to watch the first episodes before the batch completes, but other users with the same idea in mind are more likely to utilize you as a seeder if you do this.

Fixing Your Ratio

Oops, a little too late; so you've gone ahead and grabbed everything that caught your eye the moment the new account restrictions were lifted. Yes, you knew you should have read the Wiki and FAQ and known better... but too little too late. Well, things aren't hopeless yet, and if you are patient and willing enough to put in the effort you can pull your ratio back to a decent number.

I got warned, I have no files so I can't seed or download. Woe is me

BakaBT is not the only source of downloadable anime. Try the sources listed above. You'll be surprised at how much stuff is available outside of BakaBT. Download something that's recent and in demand, and seed it here to fix your ratio. You can organize the browse list by leechers to see what is in demand. Downloading the files for offers that will be approved soon and seeding those is also a good way to fix your ratio.

Wow, that's too much trouble for me, I don't think I'm quite cut out for that

While we're not quite financially in the red, a little economic boost is always welcome. It's a simple idea; you donate money, and in return, you get more uploaded data on your tracker statistics. Donations are open at the start of the month, and are closed when the server cost has been covered.

Currently we accept donations through a number of payment processors (depending on your region) and anonymous donations over flattr.

Oh dear, I'm going to have to sell my house, car and dog to have enough to fix my ratio. Anything cheaper and faster?

You might want to try a seedbox service. Not much will be said about them here, but if you ask the right people they might point you in the right direction.

All those options are too pricey or would take too long, can't you just unwarn me if I ask nicely?

No.

In that case, is there anything else I can do, that does not require me to sell my cats or kidneys?

Yes there is. You can try earning bonus points through adoptions! All this requires is a bit of time, reading comprehension and html editing. Don't be scared of that last bit though, as long as you can read we've created this illustrated guide for you. If you follow that you can help us out a lot, and in return you get these shiny coins bonus points to pay of your debt turn them into upload and get rid of your warning.

Can I just delete my account and start all over again then?

Being An Astute Seeder

There's some of us who love seeding just for the sake of seeding, and there's those of us who love seeding just to make sure nothing goes unseeded (leave no torrent behind!). Then there's some of us who are aiming for the Top 10. Here's some tips on getting your ratio up quickly:

The Offers page shows torrents which are pending approval. Hang out there long enough and you'll see which torrents are likely to be approved. Quickly get the files (which are usually available from the fansub group's distro tracker or IRC bots), sit in tight and wait for the torrent to be approved. If you start early on the torrent, you are more likely to get more uploaded.

Of course, this only works if you are a Power User; non-power users will have to wait for the end of the swarm period.

The exchange rate for bonus points isn't that high, but if your bandwidth speed is low then you will want to use everything at your disposal, especially bonus torrents. There are some old torrents that are perpetually seeder-starved. Browse the torrent list and sort by the number of seeders (or just filter for bonus torrents), pick some that have few seeders and one or two leechers if not more. Keep them seeding!

The trick to this is to keep those torrents going, the bonus status may drop depending on the number and ratio of seeders, but as they say, a watched pot never boils. Pick about 10-12 of these seeder-starved torrents, and just keep them going for as long as possible. Don't pick too many (unless you're a seeder who likes to keep these torrents seeded, which is a different story), otherwise you might spend too much bandwidth on bittorrent protocol overhead.

Why Stat-Hacking on BakaBT is a Losing Proposition

Bah, this is too hard! I'll just hack my stats and get off scot-free.

Good luck if you decide to go this route, but before you decide to try, let us outline why this is not a good idea (unless you're just doing it for the challenge):

We are a private tracker

That means if maintaining a ratio is too tough for you or you just don't like to seed, you shouldn't be here. If you were invited to this site, then it is expected you abide by our rules.

Stat-hackers are permanently banned

If the ratio on your registered account drops to the pits, your account simply gets warned. If you simply can't (or choose not to) make up the deficit, you can still abandon your account and use the tracker as a public leecher. Try to stat-hack on your account though, and that's a permaban for you — no second chance, not even as a public leecher.

We don't listen to pleas

"Please, I didn't know, all the other trackers I was on before this tolerated it.""I didn't know it was stat-hacking, my friend just passed me this program and I just used it.""My friend said he could help me increase my upload, I didn't know he was stat-hacking. Sorry, can you please just remove the extra upload and unban me?"

No, no and no. We don't care. You registered an account, you better take the time to learn the rules. Better luck reading the FAQ next time.

Introduction to Forums

New to forums? Want to avoid stepping on people's toes and looking stupid? We highly recommend you read this first.

The guide may be a little outdated, but it holds true in spirit and principle. Make your own mental edits for modern terms and trends.

More Information

Where can I learn more about codecs/anime/manga/Japanese culture?

Google is your friend. For specific information on Japanese animations, these are the main resources:

ANN

AniDB

MAL

AnimeNewsNetwork (ANN) provides detailed staff and cast information for each release, and also lists news related to each anime, as well as licensing information (which is not always up to date, so take it with a pinch of salt).

AniDB provides detailed information on fansub releases, as well as an extensive collection of categories and tags to tell you what to expect from each anime.

MyAnimeList (MAL) is a quick and no-hassle way to catalog your anime or manga collection. Also good for reviews, recommendations, discussion, and basic anime information and staff.

Anime-Planet

Wikipedia

Anime-Planet has a really easy list management system, as well as a user-contributed recommendation system which might help you find more anime that you might enjoy.

Wikipedia is a good source to learn about everything related to the anime. This site will include extra information that you usually won’t find on the anime databases (not necessarily important though).